Three straight has a ring to it for Northwest champion C's

Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun09.10.2013

The Vancouver Canadians celebrate their third consecutive Northwest League championship on Monday at Nat Bailey Stadium after defeating the Boise Hawks 5-0 to win the best-of-three single-A baseball final 2-1.Mark van Manen
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Manager Clayton McCullough is "treated" to a Gatorade shower after the Vancouver Canadians won their third consecutive Northwest League championship on Monday night at Nat Bailey Stadium. Vancouver defeated the Boise Hawks 5-0 to win the best-of-three single-A series 2-1.Mark van Manen
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The Vancouver Canadians celebrate their third consecutive Northwest League championship on Monday night after defeating the Boise Hawks 5-0 at Nat Bailey Stadium. The C's won the best-of-three single-A championship series 2-1.Mark van Manen
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Baseball fans at sold-out Nat Bailey Stadium give the Vancouver Canadians a standing ovation after the single-A squad won its third consecutive Northwest League championship by beating the Boise Hawks 5-0 on Monday night. The C's won the best-of-three final 2-1Mark van Manen
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Manager Clayton McCullough clutches the Northwest League championship trophy after his Vancouver Canadians defeated the Boise Hawks 5-0 at sold-out Nat Bailey Stadium on Monday night. The C's won the best-of-three single-A baseball series 2-1 to win their third straight title.Mark van Manen
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The Vancouver Canadians hoist the Northwest League championship trophy on Monday night after defeating the Boise Hawks 5-0 at Nat Bailey Stadium. The C's won the best-of-three series 2-1 to claim their third consecutive championship banner.Mark van Manen
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The Vancouver Canadians celebrate their third consecutive Northwest League championship on Monday night after defeating the Boise Hawks 5-0. The C's won the best-of-three single-A baseball series 2-1.Mark van Manen
/ PNG

The C’s, who captured the title in 2011 and 2012, are only the third NWL team to win three straight. The last team to do it? None other than the Hawks in 1993, ’94 and ’95. The Spokane Indians also did it in the 1980s.

All three Vancouver championships have come since the C’s aligned themselves under the banner of the Toronto Blue Jays, who supply the players and coaching staff led by manager Clayton McCullough.

The skipper, naturally, received the traditional post-game Gatorade shower as the C’s danced around the infield and then serenaded the fans with a chorus of O Canada.

“I’m over the moon,” said C’s co-owner Jeff Mooney. “What a great group of guys. I’m a little excited. No, I’m a lot excited.”

The C’s scored twice in the third inning on league MVP L.B. Dantzler’s two-run double and then broke it open in the bottom of the eighth as Boise, missing five players because of visa and passport issues, booted the ball all over the ballpark, commiting a season-high five errors.

“It’s amazing,” said Robson, who left the game to a standing ovation. “I mean, it’s awesome. It couldn’t have happened at a better place. It’s unreal. I thought I pitched pretty well but I have to give a lot of credit to the defence I had behind me. I mean, they were unreal. I just tried to throw strikes because I knew those guys were behind me.

“A few weeks ago, when we were in the hunt for the playoffs, I always dreamed of being on the mound for the final game. To do that, and win, it is a dream come true.”

Dantzler, who was willing to trade his MVP trophy for a championship ring, will now have both.

“Huge,” said Dantzler, describing what a championship meant to him. “I haven’t won a real championship since my freshman year in junior college. We won a state championship and I guess I won in summer ball the following summer but we just got a T-shirt for winning that.

“We worked hard this year and had our ups and downs. A lot of people, I think, don’t realize how hard it is to play for a championship. A lot of guys go their whole career and don’t get that opportunity.’

Catcher Mike Reeves, the Peterborough native who drove in the third C’s run as part of the three-run eighth, said he had trouble sleeping he was so anxious to get on the field and take a run at the Freitas Cup, the NWL trophy.

“In your life, you don’t often get to play the last game of the season,” said Reeves. “I woke up early today. I couldn’t sleep well. I had the jitters all day. We’ve seen the rings the guys got for winning it last year. It’s a pretty big reward that you don’t come across every day.”

Dantzler struck the game’s first big blow in the bottom of the third when he doubled home second baseman Andy Fermin and designated hitter Mitch Nay on a fly ball misjudged by Boise centre-fielder Kevin Encarnacion. The latter took two steps in before he realized – oops! – he should have taken two steps back. The ball sailed over his head much to the delight of the crowd.

The C’s, who stranded six runners in the first five innings, were keeping Boise in the game instead of running them out of the park. But Robson was superb on the mound, at one point retiring 12 straight Hawks through the middle innings.

His only trouble came in the sixth when Boise right-fielder Rony Rodriguez led off the inning with a double. Robson retired the next batter and then left the game to the standing ovation.

Gonzalez came on and fanned the next two Hawks on just seven pitches, stranding Rodriguez at third and ending Boise’s first, and only, threat of the night.

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